Amelia Kerr expects NZC deal to change game for women

AUCKLAND: All-rounder Amelia Kerr hopes that now full-time professionals are available, New Zealand Cricket (NZC) would "invest more" in women's cricket.

Women cricketers will earn the same match fees as their male counterparts under a new five-year master agreement between NZC, the six major cricket associations in the country and the New Zealand Cricket Players Association.

"For a while, we have had half the team full-time professionals, and half balancing cricket and work. To have everyone as full-time professionals allows us to invest more in our cricket and that's so important," Kerr was quoted as saying by ESPNcricinfo.

"We want to perform and the only way to get better is if we can train every day and put our focus into that. It is good to have balance outside of it. Having full-time professional athletes means we can work harder and that's our job - we turn up every day and that's what we are meant to do," Kerr said.

Kerr is back after a two-month hiatus following the Women's Premier League (WPL) when she was a member of the Mumbai Indians' title-winning team.

Kerr had previously spent a significant amount of time on the road. She competed in the Hundred and the WBBL after helping New Zealand win a bronze medal at the Commonwealth Games last August. She also played in the West Indies, Bangladesh at home, and the T20 World Cup in South Africa earlier this year before joining the WPL.

"I am not one to always take that break, but it was a pretty full-on year last year. To be a part of the WPL and playing there and to see how much they love cricket over in India, the crowd... how many people we were playing in front of was pretty incredible and an amazing tournament to be a part of. The passion and love India has and going over there to play cricket is one of the best experiences you will get," Kerr said.

Kerr had 15 wickets in the WPL, tied for third most, and was a vital hitter for the Mumbai Indians, headed by Harmanpreet Kaur.

"[Having players from other countries as team-mates] is the awesome thing about franchise cricket. I was fortunate to have Charlotte Edwards as my [head] coach and we had some overseas pros in the Indian captain [Harmanpreet] and Nat Sciver-Brunt, who is one of the best in the world," Kerr said.

"To play alongside them and to see how they go about their business and how they train and prepare are all valuable learning experiences for me. [It is] also nice to play with a group of different people as well and learn how to connect and gel with not much time before you are into game one," she added.

New Zealand's tour of Sri Lanka will feature both ODI and T20I assignments, starting in late June. The tour commences with a three-match ODI series which will form a part of the ICC Women's Championship 2022-2025 cycle.

The series will give Sri Lanka a chance to climb up to the second spot with 11 points should they sweep the series. All three ODIs will be played at the Galle International Cricket Stadium.

The T20I leg of the tour starts on July 8, with all three games slated to be played in Colombo. New Zealand's Women's cricket team, also known as The White Ferns will arrive in Sri Lanka on June 23